Lab One:


Compare and contrast a Sony Walkman with an Apple iPod, and describe the differences in their physical construction, interface design, technology and delivery of sound.

Physically the Sony Walkman is a bit bulkier, less sleek and seems very complex. On the Apple iPod there is nothing that does not need to be there. It is minimalist in design. It is very distinct because it took into a very unique color of headphones. The technology in the iPod gives the user the ability to carry all of their music around with them. The Walkman however, can only carry one cassette or one album of music thus, limiting the amount of music to about a few songs.
The iPod displays what is being played, the artist and the album. It gives good usability to consumers in the sense that it engages all the senses of the consumer. It beats the walkman in many ways by making all your music available and improves all elements in design. Cassettes would get unraveled too and one would have to carry a few with them. Also Walkman did not have rechargable batteries which were an added cost to the consumer. Overall, the design of the iPod was made to encompass all of what the Walkman and CD players of the 80s and 90s could not muster. It was sleek, strong, large format and used better sound.